First Day of My Life
by m.wobbles
Summary: Sookie Stackhouse is starting her freshman year of college. Nervous, shy and repeatedly hurt by her dorm-mates, she's certain college will be miserable. That is, until a beautiful blonde becomes her roommate. AH/OOC Warning: Fem-slash.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I decided I wanted to write something different, something that I haven't really seen done before. This story is AH and some characters are extremely OOC. Thanks to afalcone10 (if you haven't read her shit, you should!), this story is what is considered fem-slash (girl-on-girl sex). If you're homophobic, you should NOT read this story. This story requires a fairly open mind about CH's characters. If you don't care to read this stuff, go ahead and close the window right now. I promise, you're not hurting my feelings. However, if you do choose to read this and then bash on me because you don't like my spin on the characters after I've warned you about them, I will NOT like you.

Currently, there's not a whole lot going on because I've got to set the stage. Eventually, we'll get there though. Hold on tight spider monkeys: it's going to be an angsty ride!

See you at the bottom!

**Last weekend in August **

I was terrified. Never in my life had I been so far from home, so far from my friends, so far from everything I knew. I was dumped into a new environment, albeit one of my choosing, 200 miles away from everything I knew and I was terrified. At the same time, I was thrilled: excited for the freedom, excited to grow into myself, excited to embark on one of the most important journeys of my life.

The sun was beating down, a boiling 95 degrees; abnormal for the small valley my liberal arts college was nestled in. My brother and I had just pulled up in his Pathfinder, after getting lost in the nooks and crannies of the small campus. The resident hall loomed in front of us: a four storied, strangely Spanish colonial style, red-roofed building. While it was the fourth oldest building on campus, it didn't reflect the architecture themes on campus. The other older buildings were redbrick, with blue roofs and white accents. No, my dorm had personality. It stood out and was easily identified from the aerial postcards the university was so fond of sending out. Yes, Becht Hall would be my home for the next few years and I couldn't have picked a better place.

The only draw backs to the charming all girl dorm were lack elevators and air conditioning. Hauling up the contents of a packed SUV was no fun at all. After a couple hours and countless trips up and down three flights of stairs, my brother and I were worn out but thankfully finished. A last minute trip to Wal-Mart for forgotten odds and ends, followed by a tearful (on my part) goodbye in the parking lot and I was on my own.

As soon as my brother's car turned the corner and was out of sight, I flew back into the building and up the stairs to my room. Jamming my key in the door, I pushed it open to find that my roommate had returned. She had kindly given my brother and I space to move me in when we first arrived.

"Sookie, hey! Your brother gone?" Arlene asked from her perch on her bed. She had lovely red hair (though, most definitely from a box) that fell in soft waves around her shoulders. I thought of the messy and sweaty blonde pony tailed that was my hair and was instantly jealous. How did she move in, with more stuff than me I might add, but still look so nice? Definitely jealous.

"Yep, he just drove off." I flopped backwards on my bed and stared at the off-white ceiling. There were a couple cracks running from the corners and I could see the lights had been replaced, as a ring from the old lighting fixture was still visible. I was so tired and just wanted a nap. As I was close to drifting away, Arlene mentioned something about a party.

"So Crystal from next door is going to this party at one of the frats. You in?" Sighing, I sat up and looked at my roommate. We had talked a few times this summer since getting our room assignment and from what I gathered, we led vastly different lives. She came from a family with money; it was obvious in all the designer label items on her side of the closet. Her parents bought a shiny new sports car for graduation. College was the assumed next step in her life: this was fun and games to her, I could tell. I, however, only had my brother and was here on an academic scholarship and not willing to do anything to mess that up.

"No, I don't think. Not tonight at least, I'm definitely too tired to do much of anything." Arlene shrugged and disappeared out of the room. I spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping, before our floor meeting at seven.

The floor meeting was pretty lame, actually. We meet in the roomy hallway and it was absolutely sweltering from lack of air circulation. The resident assistants (Felicia and Octavia) went over rules and regulations and then we played a couple icebreakers to get to know each other. Despite the fact that the excitement of our new lives was permeable in the air, I felt alone and awkward. Maybe I was homesick or maybe it was a result of my hormones being out of whack because of the birth control I just started taking or maybe I was just too shy for my own good. Whatever the reason, it led to me staying holed up in my room while the other girls went to partake in the freshmen casino night.

Freshmen weekend had started Thursday, while the rest of the campus didn't arrive until Sunday. It was filled with mindless meetings about public safety, sexual harassment, scheduling, pep rallies that would finish out with a convocation ceremony on Sunday. My roommate was basically MIA until Saturday night. It was the first night she wasn't out partying and we were lying in our respective beds, having our first "pillow talk."

"Have you seen any hot guys yet, Sookie?" Arlene asked after telling me all about her exciting nights of getting drunk and making out with strangers. Um, can you say yuck?

"Actually…" I sucked in a deep breath. _It's now or never_, I thought. "I'm not really…into guys?" My statement ending up being more of a question and I was embarrassed at my lack of self-confidence. As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. Arlene's bed springs creaked and I could see from the soft glow of our computers that she sat up.

"What?" The word sounded harsh and judgmental. Internally, I cursed myself. I had somehow expected prejudices to magically go away in college. How freakin' stupid.

"Um, yeah. I'm a…" Damn it! This girl, who, for all intensive purposes a stranger to me, had me ashamed of who I was,. "…lesbian."

Arlene made a strangled noise and then spoke in a hushed tone, "Like, for real? Are you sure, Sookie?"

Despite the fact that I was still a virgin and had never actually messed around with a guy (or a girl for that matter) before, I knew. I knew I was attracted to women and their soft curves, round breasts, lovely hair and delicate features. Never in my life had I felt an attraction to a male, not even the hottest guys in high school or any of those sexiest men of the year types made my panties wet. But women, yes, definitely _women_, made my panties melt.

"Yep, I'm pretty sure." I heard Arlene flop back into her bed and knew it was a mistake to tell her. I should have just lied, the way I lied to my friends in high school and forced myself to gossip about boys. "But…" Without a doubt, I knew Arlene was trying to figure out whether or not I wanted to sleep with her. "I'm not attracted to you. I mean, you're pretty and all but just not my type." The words came out quickly and jumbled, but I hoped they'd put her at ease.

"Oh, well, that's good then." We lapsed into an awkward silence. Soon I heard her breathing even out and knew she was asleep.

***

**September**

Classes started that Monday and my first week went well. With the exception of one douche bag professor, all my classes were interesting and the professors seemed to really care about their field of expertise and enjoyed their line of work. I had even managed to make friends with some of the girls on the floor and had a standing dinner date with them. Things with Arlene were awkward after my revelation for a little while. By the following Wednesday, she seemed to have worked out her issues and our situation was comfortable. We had some common interests and I was thrilled it seemed like we would do well as roommates. That is, until Friday night, when we had our first fire drill. We were all lined up outside, waiting for the all clear to return to our rooms when Arlene asked if she could talk to me before we went inside. I agreed and we walked over to the bell tower, sitting one of the low concrete benches.

"Listen, Sookie, I'm moving in with Lorena." I was shell-shocked. "It's not anything against you, it's just her roommate backed out and isn't coming to school. Her room's bigger and we're the same major, with some of the same classes and it just seems like…" She trailed off and I blinked back tears, nodding my head in agreement. With that, she stood and left. I sat underneath the bell tower, feeling more insecure about myself than I ever had in my entire life.

***

After Arlene moved out, I almost shut down. The only other person who knew about my sexuality was my best friend. Sam Merlotte and I had met our freshman year of high school, in history class. At that point, I was struggling with my sexuality. Meeting Sam had been my saving grace: he was gay himself. We were friends prior to that knowledge, but after he told me, I clung to him. He was my rock; he knew my secrets and kept them safe. And unfortunately, he was exactly reason I didn't come out in school. Sam came out our sophomore year and was harassed on a regular basis for the rest of high school. I protected him the best I could, and was always there for him, but I knew I wasn't strong enough to handle the harassment Sam took. Sam respected my decision, knowing I'd come out in my own time. Telling Arlene felt like the biggest mistake of my life, especially when the notes started.

As seemed to be the tradition of most colleges, many girls in my dorm had white boarders on their doors, myself included. A couple days after Arlene moved out, I woke one morning to, "ARE YOU A LESBIAN?" written on my whiteboard. With a flushed face, I erased it quickly and hoped no one else had seen it.

When I returned from class that afternoon, someone had written "Lint Licker" on my board. To someone else, it might have a funny reference to an Orbit chewing gum commercial, but it felt was an attack against me. Again, I erased it. After three days, it got so bad I took my board down. I felt so ashamed that I had foolishly opened up to a stranger and was too embarrassed to talk to one of the RA's about it. However, I did call Sam.

"Sam," I cried into the phone, having reached my breaking point. Tonight, the white board had a crudely drawn beaver with a heart next to it. I wasn't stupid, I knew no one was casually pointing out an appreciation of those dam building semi-aquatic rodents. "I can't stand it here!" After blubbering my way through an explanation of what was happening, Sam let out a low sigh.

"Baby girl, you listen to me okay?" I nodded as I mumbled "yes" into the phone. Sam was using his "get shit done" voice. "You need to take the good and take the bad…"

"Are you seriously offering me _The Facts of Life _theme song as advice?!" I screeched into the phone. "Are you kidding me?"

"Well, actually yes," he laughed into the phone. Sam's laugh was rich and deep, rolling off him like waves even over the phone. It comforted me like a security blanket: I wished I could wrap myself up in it and never leave. "Listen, Sooks do you remember junior year when those dipshits spray painted my car?"

"Yeah…" I replied, remembering that day. Friday night, I had slept over at Sam's and the following morning we planned to go out for breakfast. We were stunned to find Sam's self-restored 1975 Ford Mustang with the word "FAG" spray painted all over the doors and hood in angry red paint. We spent the afternoon stripping the paint with periods of Sam sobbing in my arms. He and his father had spent four years restoring the car. They had finished roughly a month before Sam's father was killed by a drunk driver. It had left Sam devastated and his car was filled with so many fond memories, he cherished it deeply. I had wanted to murder whatever assholes had vandalized it. They were never caught.

"Well, you told me never to let anyone get to me, because that's what they wanted. You hold your head high, Sookie Stackhouse, and be proud of who you are. If those nasty bitches can't see you for who you are, they're not worth your time. Don't let them get you down."

After talking for a while longer, I hung up feeling better than I had in a while. I was bound and determined to take Sam's advice: I'd just roll with the punches. I even hung my white board back up. Yep, I'd show them.

**October**

I felt good about myself, really good, for the next few weeks. The messages had stopped, my douche bag professor stopped being such a douche and I was getting closer with my only two friends in the dorm: Sophie-Ann and Andrea. We had become like three peas in a pod, almost inseparable. Those two girls were helping heal the wound that Arlene left in my heart. For awhile, at least.

"Sookie, can I come in?" I looked up from my computer to see Sophie-Anne standing in my doorway. She was a beautiful girl, one I found myself growing more and more attracted to the longer we spent time together. Her strawberry blonde hair and sparkling sea-green eyes always took my breath away. She had a creamy pale complexion, her skin almost like porcelain. Her mouth was small, her pink lips perfect without any lip gloss. I often found myself wondering what they'd taste like. Sophie's frame was tiny, her hips and breasts in perfect portion to her small stature. I knew it was wrong, thinking of my friend in such a way, but it overwhelmed me how much I wanted to touch her. Pulling myself from my thoughts, I nodded.

"Can I ask you something?" She perched herself on the edge of my bed, crossing her dainty ankles together. I nodded again and she continued speaking, her voice laced with apprehension. "There's some…geez Sooks, this is really hard. There's been a rumor floating around that, well..." She looked away from me, her eyes trained to the ugly brown carpet. "That you're a lesbian?" She whispered the last word as though saying it would make her one too.

"Yeah, I am. Is that a problem?" My chest tightened as I questioned her. I already knew the answer.

"No, well, yeah. It's just that I'm Catholic and we don't believe in that? I don't know if I could be friends with someone who…" She trailed off, her eyes quickly snapping up to meet mine briefly. They returned to the floor again. "I just don't think I can be friends with someone that's involved with those types of things."

"Those types of things?"

"Yeah, you know. With another girl? It just isn't natural, Sookie!" With that, she jumped off my bed and almost ran out the door, slamming it shut behind her. Her hurts cut me deeply. Quickly, I finished my homework before crawling into bed. That night, I fell asleep still in my clothes and my pillow soaked from tears.

I got up the next morning, forcing myself to go through the motions. Somehow, I managed to get myself dressed and even showed up for all my classes. Afterward, I dropped by the on-campus deli and grabbed a sandwich for dinner: I knew Andrea's rejection was sure to come sooner rather than later. She and Sophie-Anne were roommates.

Sure enough, she showed up that night much in the same manner Sophie-Anne had the night before. Rather than bother with religious excuses, she just told me she didn't feel right being friends with me if Sophie-Anne wasn't. I wasn't sure what stung worse: Sophie-Anne's ignorant rejection or Andrea's brainless one. Regardless, I cried myself to sleep that night too.

Shortly after Sophie-Anne and Andrea rejected my friendship, one girl tried to befriend me. Her name was Dawn and she was a dark eyed, dark haired beauty. From what I knew of her, she was a little eccentric and quite strange. However, I was lonely and decided to give her a chance. We had lunch together one day. Our conversation was pleasant enough and I felt hopeful again. Later that night; I overheard her talking about the "rug muncher." She and her roommate were laughing up a storm at my expense. That was the final straw for me. I was unwilling to allow anyone else to make me feel ashamed of who I was, so I shrunk into myself and avoided people. I threw myself into my studies and stayed holed up in my room any time I wasn't in class. It was lonely and I spent most nights crying myself to sleep but my grades were sure to be spectacular. Plus, I had lost almost 20 pounds because I was down to mostly one meal a day: I hated eating alone.

***

**November**

By the time Thanksgiving break rolled around, I was begging my brother to come get me a few days early. I hadn't missed any classes and even made arrangements to take tests a few days early just so I could go home. My life was empty and my college experience was wearing on me emotionally. I needed to get away.

Jason came to get me the Friday before break, thus making my break over a full week instead of just a few days. I was never so glad to see my brother as I was in that moment. After helping me haul my laundry and suitcase out to his car, we were on the road.

"So, sis, how's college treating you? Tell me everything." Even though we tried to call each other on a weekly basis, our phone calls were brief and mostly him making sure I was still alive. I kept my problems to myself. Jason knew I wasn't interested in men and while he seemed to accept it, we never talked about. I faked enthusiasm and lied to him about all the friends I was making. That's how my break was spent: lying to friends and family about how awesome college was. The only person I was truthful with was Sam.

"I was thinking about just finishing up the semester and transferring elsewhere," I told Sam as we both plopped down into the plush overstuffed couch in the basement of his house. He pulled my legs into his lap, as was our custom and I pressed play on the DVD. The opening scene of our favorite movie, _Zoolander,_ flashed across the screen. Sam shook his head, his reddish-gold hair fanning out like a halo.

"Sooks, you worked so hard for that scholarship! You can't let these girls let you down. Have you thought of switching dorms or something? Or talking to the RAs? You can't just give up: you're not a quitter and you know it." Sam was right, he knew me so well.

"It's just so hard, Sam. You don't…" He raised his right eyebrow at me. "Alright, you know exactly what I'm talking about. But at least you had me then, Sam!" Hot tears rolled down my cheeks before I could stop them. "I don't have anyone there, Sam. Everyone hates me or thinks I'm weird or is afraid I'll spread the gay to them."

"Come here, baby girl," Sam said as he sat up and grabbed me into his arms. I tucked my head into his chest and he pressed a kiss to the top of my head before resting his chin there. We sat there, me curled tightly into the warmth of his embrace for some time, I'm not sure how long. Eventually, my sobs subsided and left a dull ache in my chest. Sam released me and we returned to our previous position, my legs in his lap. We finished watching _Zoolander_ in contemplative silence, save for our laughter at funny scenes.

***

I was dreading, absolutely dreading, the return to college. After 200 miles and four hours in a car, my brother dropped me off and I was back to my own personal hell. My college experience, so far, was nothing that I expected. I expected to make friends, girls I'd grow so close to they'd be more like sisters, to feel great about myself and to grow into the woman I'd be for the rest of my life. If this silent introverted loner was who I was going to be for the rest my life, my life was going to suck.

Everything changed though, when I unlocked my door and walked into my room. My room, which had previously been immaculately clean and organized to the point of anal retentive, looked like the aftermath of a hurricane. Among all the mess sat a beautiful pale blonde. She looked up when I entered and sprung to her feet.

"Hi! Sookie Stackhouse, right?" She asked, cocking her head to the side as I took her in. Her blonde hair hung well past her shoulders and was stick straight. Her clothes didn't fit that of a typical college student: she looked like a soccer mom in her pale pink sweater set and khakis. Her frame was willowy and tall, at least four inches taller than my 5'6. She stuck her French manicured hand out to me, revealing a pearl bracelet that matched the studs in her ears. "Pamela Ravenscroft. Please, call me Pam." She flashed me a brilliantly bright smile, her mouth full of perfectly straight, white teeth. Dumbfounded, I shook her hand. "I'm your new roommate!"

Little did I know, at the time, just how much Pam would change my life.

A/N: I realized that I mentioned Sookie being on birth control: it's common for some girls to go on birth control as a means to help regular their menstrual cycles. That's why she's on the pill. So…review, review, review? Please?!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I forgot to mention this in the first chapter: I don't own these kids, CH does. We're just kickin' it together for a little bit.

Pam seemed determined that we become friends.

"Sookie, chat with me while I unpack." Pam didn't actually ask me as much as she told me. As Pam pulled one expensive designer item after another out of her various suitcases and duffle bags, I listened to her talk about her life. She came from a wealthy family in Connecticut, was an only child and spent most summers and holidays traveling the world. She was a sophomore majoring in public relations and was involved with a whole slew of things on campus. Surprisingly enough, her activities not only consisted of social clubs, but also an honor society and a few volunteer groups. She assured me she knew just how bitchy and pretentious she sounded and just how spoiled she was. Despite claiming to be snobbish and uppity, I would find out that Pam was anything but.

"That's the last of it," Pam stood up, brushing off the backside of her khakis. "Let's go for dinner." Grabbing her pink and grey plaid Burberry coat, she shrugged into and was half way out the door before I even registered her question. She wanted to eat with me? Emotionally, I couldn't afford a repeat of Arlene. I had to tell her, despite how much I feared her response. Rip it off quickly, just like a band-aid, I told myself.

"Um…Pam?" I called softly from my perch on my bed. "There's something I should tell you before we go eat?" Damn it! Why was this making constantly question myself? Despite the fact that I felt like an outcast here, I really did like the person I was.

She turned in the doorway, pulling the door shut with her. Leaning up against the door, she waved her hand for me to continue.

"Well, I…" _Band-aid_, I reminded myself. Shutting my eye tightly, the words tumbled out. "ijustthoughyoushouldknowi'malesbian." Slowly popping open my left eye, I looked up at Pam. She had a playful smirk on her face.

"Is that all, Sookie?" She sounded bored. I nodded. "So?"

"You don't care?"

Pam gave me an incredulous look. "Why the hell would I care, Sookie? Some of my best friends are homos." She flicked some lint off her jacket. "Let's go eat."

Unable to control myself, tears rolled down my cheeks and a sob wracked through my body. I wasn't sure if it was due to relief or the possibility of insanity: relief because Pam seemed genuine in her statement or insanity for fear this was all some dream and I'd wake up to the nightmare that was my freshman fall semester. Initially shocked by my sudden outburst, Pam quickly recovered and rushed to my side. She wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me to her chest. My head rested against her heart and the sound of it helped calm my nerves.

"So it's true, isn't it?" Pam's voice was soft but icy. I snapped my head up and pulled away. "Those bitches broke you, didn't they?"

The venom in her voice frightened me and I never wanted to be the cause or recipient of it. "What?"

"A few weeks ago, I overheard two girls in the lobby talking about how they were trying to run a 'dyke' out of here. 'Becht is for babes, not butches,' they said."

Another wave of tears washed over me and Pam pulled my body fully into hers, until I was resting on her lap. She rocked me like a mother does a child, speaking softly and stroking my hair.

"You are my roommate now, Sookie Stackhouse. No one treats me or mine like that and gets away with it. No one." Her arms tightened around me. "Their hold on you is over, Sookie. Today is a new beginning, I promise."

When my tears had finally subsided, I sat up. Suddenly aware I was in another woman's lap, I flushed and struggled to move away from Pam. Her hands grabbed my wrists, gripping tightly and she leaned back. "Look at you, Sookie." She released my left wrist, tucking the bit of my hair that had fallen out of my loose pony tail behind my ear. "You are no butch. Nope, I see no dyke here." She let go of my other hand and stood up, straightening her clothes. "That is not typical behavior of me, Sookie so don't get used to it. Hurry up and get yourself ready, I'm starving!"

Pam and I had a pleasant dinner and I found myself opening up to her. After dinner, we spent the rest of the evening in our room, watching silly chick flicks, chatting and painting our toenails. I went to bed with a smile on my face and for the first time in weeks, my pillow wasn't soaked with tears.

***

For the next two weeks, Pam worked hard at breaking me out of my shell. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it in myself to drag myself out of the dorms for more than class or meals at the dining hall. As much as I wanted to do things, I just couldn't find the energy to. Arlene, Sophie-Anne and Andrea had left me really insecure with myself. I found it hard to believe that someone like Pam really wanted to be friends with someone like me. She had never done anything to lose my trust but I couldn't bring myself to trust her fully. It was entirely unfair of me: she always made time for me, she was a considerate roommate, and I had even overheard her defending me a few times to other girls on the floor.

I guess my biggest fear was rejection. What if I did go hang out with Pam's friends and they hated me? Or made fun of me? Or worse, what if they talked Pam out of liking me too? Pam had just come into my life and I couldn't stand to lose her already. Truly, I was happy going to class and hanging out with Pam. I didn't need more than that.

Pam, however, wasn't giving up. Not even close to it.

"Listen, Sookie I get this whole 'academic scholarship goody two shoes' thing, I really do. But hon, you're really cramping my style with all this hermit business. I'm going to a club meeting tonight and you're coming with me. It'll do you good."

"But…"

"No!" Pam grabbed my black pleather jacket (I don't kill animals for fashion!) from its hook and tossed it at me while throwing my cell phone and keys into my bag. "You're coming!" She then spun me around on my desk chair and shoved my feet into my favorite black clogs. "Look at that! All ready to go!" I stared at her, slack-jawed.

You can't really argue with that, can you?

Shutting off my desk lamp, I stood and followed Pam out the door. As we were walking to the stairs, we passed Lorena and Arlene. They were looking my way and giggling but shut up the moment Pam glared at them. I swear she growled too.

"Trash is as trash does, Sookie. Ignore them," she whispered, loudly, to me and shot the girls an icy stare. Nodding, I followed Pam into the stairwell. The oatmeal colored paint was disgusting, cracked and peeling in places. It smelled like a combination of wet dog and gym socks. A mixture of dried snow and salt rock caked the brown stairs and made them look like moldy chocolate.

"What's club are we going to?" I asked as I followed her down the stairs. Despite the fact I couldn't see her face, I knew she was rolling her eyes. That was the only response she offered.

We exited the stairwell, walking into the sweltering heat of the lobby. A main heating pipe line for the campus ran directly under the dorm and the lobby had been literally hot as hell since mid-October. It only seemed to be getting worse. I was sweating by the time we reached the main doors. When we walked out of the building, Pam threaded her arm through mine as we walked down the stone stairs and onto the sidewalk.

"Sookie, I only ask that you keep an open mind and don't allow yourself to be overwhelmed. Despite the fact that I appear to be a cold-hearted bitch, I really do like you and wouldn't push you into something you couldn't handle." That was the only hint I was going to get about what club we were going to. Remaining silent, I tried to wrack my brain for what was listed on Pam's calendar for Wednesdays. I couldn't remember.

She steered us towards the psychology building and I followed her up the cerement steps and through the heavy metal door. As a psych major, Harvey was my building and I knew it well. The walls were a pristine white, while the floor covered with blue tiles. To someone unfamiliar with the building, it seemed like a maze of doors and a room numbering system that made no sense. The building had two little nooks off to either end and they always threw students for a loop. However, having my advisor and two classes live in this building made it a lot easier to navigate. To me, it resembled what I thought a mental hospital would look like, which seemed fitting.

I could hear loud chattering before we even entered the room. The door was open and Pam walked through, giving me an encouraging nod as I stood just outside the doorway. Taking a deep breathe and bracing myself, I walked in. Trailing behind Pam to the back of the room, I took some time to examine my surroundings before sitting.

There were about 30 students in the room. Everyone varied in size, color, gender, and fashion. Some students had Pam's soccer mom look down, while others were dressed more casually, like me, in jeans and hoodies. Others seemed to embrace the punk style, complete with funky colored hair, piercing and tattoos. Still, others looked like throwbacks to the '60s and free love. Everyone was intermixed and mingling. No one looked alone or sad. I still had no idea what type of club Pam brought me to, but it seemed less scary than I expected.

Looking up to the front of the room, I saw something that made my heart stop. an American flag tacked to the strip above the chalk board. Except this was no regular American flag. It had the traditional blue square with white stars but instead of the 13 red and white stripes, it had six bold rainbow stripes. It was a gay pride flag.

I was frozen, my body unable to move except for my eyes, which found and locked to Pam's. She just smirked as she pointed to the chair next to her. Willing my body to corporate, I sunk into the chair before hissing at Pam, "What is this?"

"It's Allies, silly." That was all Pam had the chance to offer before the meeting began.

Allies was a club for the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community on campus. I was surprised at the turn out and even more surprised at how accepting everyone else. As I listened to the officers giving their reports and discussing upcoming events, I felt my spirits lifting. Occasionally, I'd sneak a peak at Pam and found her watching me, with a gleeful grin on her face. She seemed quite proud of her decision to bring me here and I couldn't help but feel thankful. Before I knew it, the meeting was adjourned.

After five minutes or so, almost everyone filed out and only a few people were left. I made to stand when I felt a hand on my shoulder, pressing me back into my seat.

"Girl, you best tell me where you been keepin' this one!" I heard an effeminate voice demand of Pam. The owner of the voice, a black man came to sit in front of me. "Look at you, hooka! You's fine!" I blushed as I looked him over while Pam introduced us. He had a lovely milk chocolate complexion, his head covered with a peacock blue scarf and his eye lids done in matching shadow. His top was a deep, vibrant purple and might have been a woman's shirt. On his legs, he wore silver pants. Seriously, silver pants!

Pam rolled her eyes as she stood up. "We having our regular coffee date?" He nodded, standing as I remained in my seat. While Allies made me feel more comfortable with my sexuality, I was still insecure. I hadn't been invited for coffee and I was trying to figure out how to gracefully escape to the comfort of the dorms. Pam and Lafayette had made their way to the door before they realized I wasn't following.

"Girl, you is coming with us, right?" Lafayette's voice broke me out of my thoughts as I looked up. They were both standing in the doorway, looking at me the way impatient parents look at children.

"Oh! Of course!" I spoke hurriedly, grabbing my jacket up and attempting to stand. In my nervous hurry, I tripped over a chair and almost fell flat on my face. Recovering, my face blushing beet red, I slowly made my way over to a smirking Pam and laughing Lafayette.

"Damn, Pam! You weren't kidding with this one bein' a little crazy!" Feeling even more embarrassed and ready to bail, I felt Lafayette's arm slip around my shoulders. "Don't you worry nothing, sugah." He winked at me. "I likes you already."

"Oh, thanks," I mumbled weakly. Way to be articulate, Sookie.

Lafayette's arm remained around my shoulder as we followed Pam to the student complex center. He talked up a storm, telling me all about himself. Like Pam, he was a sophomore. Unlike Pam, he was a theater major with a concentration in stage make-up and tech work, and a minor in business.

"Gotta have something to fall back on, right?" We had entered the student center and he guided me over to the lounge area. "You got this tonight, Pammy?" She nodded and disappeared around the corner. I was curious about what she'd pick for me since I had never drank coffee in front of her before.

"Tell me about yourself, sweets." I spent the next hour talking to Lafayette and Pam, when she returned with two lo-fat fraps and a hazelnut hot chocolate for me. How she knew I liked that was beyond me, but I didn't question it. Laffy, as he insisted I call him, was loud and silly and just wonderful. He reminded me so much of Sam, not because Sam was loud or really like Laffy in any way. However, Sam was fiercely loyal, kind of like a dog, and I suspected Lafayette was the same way. In fact, after Pam prodded me into talking about the "bitchfaces" from my dorm, I knew for certain.

"So you's telling me that this snotty bitch thinks she's better than you cuz she likes the pole over the hole?" I flinched at his word choice but nodded. "I think anyone that doesn't like dick just hasn't gotten the right dick yet but damn if I think I'm better than yous! Girl, she better hope I never run into her in a dark alley cuz I ain't afraid to fuck a bitch up!

***

I found myself insanely jealous of Lafayette be the end of the evening. Despite the fact that he was the exact opposite of me, in nearly every single way, I desperately wanted to be like him. He was not ashamed of who he was and certainly wouldn't apologize for it. Laffy truly expressed himself: from the way he dressed, to the way he talked, even down to the way he walked and his hand gestures. But mostly, I was jealous of how much confidence he had in himself. He knew what he was worth, just how wonderful he was and damn anyone who thought otherwise.

He and I hit it off immediately, all the while a smirking Pam looked on from a neighboring oversized burnt orange chair. Somehow, after Pam returned with our drinks, Lafayette and I ended up snuggling on the couch together. Obviously, it wasn't sexual but it was nice to be so close to someone. I was tucked into his side, listening to him telling me stories about how he used to drive his mother nuts as a kid. She'd often come home and find him walking around in her heels, clothed in a dress and he often completed the look with one of her hair weaves. That gave me such a laughing fit, I was trouble breathing and tears were rolling down my cheeks.

It was the first time, in months, that I was crying for a good reason.

"Listen to me, girl! You needs to tell me about yo'self! I'm sure your fool ass drove your momma crazy a time or two growing up!"

I stiffened in Lafayette's arms and sat up. Sighing, I cleared my throat and began speaking. "My parents actually died when I was young." Laffy made to speak, but I silenced him with a flick of my hand. "Just let me get it out, then you can ask, okay?" He nodded. "They were one their way to a play, it was their monthly date night. Once a month, they dropped my brother and me off at our Gran's and went out for 'couple time.' A drunk driver hit them and they died on impact. I was three and my brother, Jason, was 13. I don't really remember much about them. Gran took us in and raised us. She could have probably tell you more stories about Jason's antics than mine, but she always liked to tease me about being messy. I used to love to play in the dirt and really loved the mud. I'd always track it into the house, which she kept immaculate and it'd drive her crazy." I felt the sting of forming tears in my eyes. Blinking them away, I continued. "She died when I was 15. I've lived with my brother since then."

Lafayette pulled me into his side and we sat quietly for a little while. During our comfortable silence, I realized Pam had disappeared. I didn't get a chance to ponder that very long, as a loud clatter from an unknown source snapped us out of reprieves. A quick glance at my cell phone made my eyes widen: it was almost midnight! The meeting had ended at nine: I'd been out of the dorm since eight in the evening! I hadn't spent this much time out of my room since, well…never! I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed myself.

Though I had missed her departure, I found a text from Pam on my phone.

"_You two were too cuddly for my liking. Make sure he walks you home."_

There had been two reported rapes on campus in the past couple weeks. The girls had been attacked from behind and had no idea who the attacker was. Public safety was stressed that all students, regardless of gender, travel in pairs at night.

Lafayette stood and pulled me up beside him. "Sooks, I guess we best be clearing out. I'll walk you home; it's on my way." We walked back to my dorm arm in arm, with Lafayette humming "Beat It" by Michael Jackson. He offered me a hug before leaving to return to his own dorm.

Walking up the three flights of stairs, I realized I had a skip in my step that had never been there before. As I pushed my key into the heavy metal door, I pulled it open to find myself face to face with Arlene and Lorena. Most likely, they were on their way to get in one last smoke for the evening.

"Well, my my my. Look who's lurking around out by herself." Arlene sneered.

"Yeah, I thought you didn't go anywhere without your protector, Pam." Lorena's voice was like nails on a chalk board: shrill and unbearable. Squaring my shoulders, I threw my head back and summoned some Laffy-power.

"I'm sorry, did you say something? I can see your lips moving, but can't hear anything you're saying. I don't speak dog." With that, I walked away.

A/N: So what'd we think of Lafayette? He was stubborn about letting me write him so I'm hoping he turned out well. And about Sookie? She got some!

Review, review, review! Seriously! I really struggled with the dialogue for this chapter, so if you liked/hated it, let me know!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: How embarrassed am I? It's been close to three months since I last updated. *hangs head* Real life really got in the way (final semester of college) and I had the toughest time getting anywhere with this chapter. But I did it!

Let's recap, shall we?

_Sookie is a freshman and after coming out to her roommate (Arlene), she's harassed by her fellow dorm mates for being a lesbian. Pam moves in after Thanksgiving break and things start looking up for Sookie, especially after Pam takes her to an Allies meeting. Allies is a club for LGBT and there, Sookie meets Pam's friend Lafayette. Laffy and Sookie bond and that's just about it…_See ya at the bottom!

The door to my room was still open when I reached it. Pushing it open, I saw Pam spinning in my desk chair, a smirk on her face.

"Did you really just do that? Did my little Sookie just call those two whores, dogs?" While I blushed, Pam beamed like a proud mother. "Good for you!"

Hanging my jacket up, I kicked off my shoes and ducked into the walk-in closet. By walk-in, I mean _walk-in_. On either side of the closet, a bar was hung for clothing. The distance between one wall of the closet and the other was probably a good six feet or so. While Becht was the oldest dorm on campus, thus leaving us with crappy paint, no elevator, no air conditioning and windows that leaked or opened on their own sometimes, we had the benefit of huge closets. The rest of the dorms on campus had crappy little cabinet things to fit all their clothes. I'd take a closet over an elevator any day.

While I pulled off my hoodie and jeans, I called to Pam through the door, "Hey, can I ask you something?" The floor creaked and bed springs groaned. I assumed Pam had crawled into bed.

"Sure." Having successfully changed into my plaid flannel pajamas and black wife beater, I pushed the door open. Sure enough, Pam was under her chic black and pink Ralph Lauren sheets. "What's up?"

As I made my way to the turn off the light that Pam left on for me, I double checked the latch on the door and prepared my question in my mind. I also gave myself a pep talk: _Yes, I could do this. No, Pam wouldn't hate me for this question. I trusted Pam, right? Yes, of course. Did I? Shit, maybe not. No! I did! Yes! _Geez, my inner dialogue was yakking away, a mile a minute.

"Let's go, Sookie. I haven't got all night." Pam sounded slightly miffed that I wasn't asking her whatever I wanted to ask. She was not one for wasting time. I took the few steps required to reach my bed and slipped under my pink and purple Care Bear sheets. Don't hate, I loved those sheets.

"First of all, you don't have class til two tomorrow." Pam snickered. "And second of all, what was that club about tonight? I mean, were you there just to support Lafayette or …?" I trailed off, not really wanting to deal with the fact that Pam might have been lying to me all this time.

"Sookie, you can support homosexuals without being one."

"Well, of course…"

Pam interrupted me. "However, I've been finding myself more inclined to the fairer sex as of late. We're much more fun, wouldn't you agree?"

"I wouldn't know, I've never been with a…" Whoa, hold on a second! "Wait! So you're bisexual? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't really see any reason to." I sat up in bed. "And did you almost tell me you've never had sex with a man?"

"Pam! Why did you think I wouldn't want to know you're bi? And no, I've never had sex with a man." I sighed. "Or a woman for that matter."

Now it was Pam's turn to sit up. I heard her bed shift in the darkness and squinted my eyes after she flicked her bedside lamp on. "You're a virgin?" Her voice was full of awe, as if I told her I was actually the queen of England. "How? You're pretty hot, Sookie."

My eyes widened at her comment, a blush covering my cheeks as I glanced down at myself. I wasn't sure how I could be considered hot. Although with my blonde hair and D cup, I did kind of have that dumb blonde bimbo look going on. Maybe that was hot to some people? Shaking my head, I responded, "Pam, I'm not hot. I'm a virgin because…"

"Shut up!" Pam had jumped out of bed, startling me into silence. "Get the fuck out of bed, Sook!" She had crossed the room, with me in tow and planted me in front the full length mirror before flicking on the overhead light. "Your tits are worthy of Playboy and you've got curves for days! How can you not think you're hot?" Her grip on my arms increased and she shook me a little. I looked at myself in the mirror and searched for what Pam was seeing.

Ignoring her comment about my breasts, I tried to objectively examine myself. Well, I did have pretty blue eyes. And I've always prided myself on taking good care of my thick wavy blonde hair: it was long, shiny and split-end free. I guess I could see what Pam was saying about my having a nice figure, too. Since she came into my life, I was eating two full meals a day, with a quick granola bar for breakfast. I had gained back almost ten pounds of the twenty I had lost. Some people were into thin as rail girls. I wasn't one of them and liked my body the way it was.

"You've never had sex with a man _or _a woman? How far have you gone, then?" Pam pulled me back across the room after flicking out the ceiling light, nudging me into my bed before she crawled in after me. "I can understand the man thing, but certainly you've been with a woman in some sense?"

A blush was creeping up my face, I could feel it burning. I'd never talked to someone about my sexual experiences, or lack thereof, before. No sense in lying, I supposed. "Please don't laugh at me, okay?" Pam was smiling that snarky smile of hers, but it disappeared when I made eye contact. Her face softened and she nodded. "Since I can remember, I've only been attracted to girls. I haven't even…" I felt embarrassed to admit this to another person. "…kissed anyone before."

"No one?" Pam seemed shocked.

"No one." This conversation was making me really uncomfortable. "Can we drop this?" I whined. "I'm tired!"

Pam left my bed, turning off the her light before sliding in her bed. Neither of us spoke another word and I drifted off to sleep, content with the new friend I had made.

* * *

Lafayette and I met for lunch the following day. While I was regularly eating dinner with Pam, lunch was a meal I was still eating alone. When I met Laffy outside of the dining hall, I could have broken into an Irish jig. It seems silly, but it had been weeks since I had lunch somewhere other than the take out from the deli.

"Honey child, look at you! You's even more dazzling in the sun light!" I blushed at Lafayette's words as he linked his arm through mine. "I hope you don't mind, I invited a couple friends to join us." He drug me along with him towards the doors of the dining hall. After having our cards swiped by the lunch lady, we picked up the ugly pink trays and separated to decide on food. We met back up for drinks and I followed Lafayette as he lead us to a table near the back corner of the dining hall. My body slowed as I saw the table we were approaching. Two of the most beautiful people I had ever seen were sitting there: they both had glossy ebony hair and clear milky complexions, complexions models would kill for. Hell, these two were so beautiful and perfect in appearance, they very well could have been models! I know I'd buy anything the female of this duo was selling. They rose as we reached the table and set down our trays.

"Dahlings!" Lafayette greeted them. After they both exchanged hugs with Laffy and those cheek kisses, like the French do, their attention turned to me. "This is my new friend, Sookie Stackhouse." I smiled awkwardly and gave a little wave. _Could you be any lamer, Stackhouse?_ I berated myself. "And these two lovelies are Claude and Claudine Crane. Claude here," he placed his hand over Claude's and smiled warmly at him. "He's one of the most fabulous fairies on campus. Second only to me." Claude rolled his eyes. Before Lafayette could say anything about Claudine, she pulled me over to the chair next to hers.

"Sookie, is it?" I nodded. Her voice was as lovely as her face. "How wonderful! A new girl to play with!" By this time, the boys had sat down and we followed suit. I was already captivated by Claudine. She smelled like freesia, her cocoa brown eyes sparkling with mirth. I could hardly focus on eating or conversation, I just wanted to stare at her. My Gran would roll over in her grave if I spent the whole time staring, though. So I snuck glances, here and there. Her laughter was ethereal, I couldn't imagine a more perfect sound. The only thing more captivating than her laughter was her smile. When she smiled, which was often, her whole face lit up: her eyes twinkled, she got adorable little crinkles around her eyes and the corners of her mouth and her luscious lips parted wide, reveling the whitest, straightest teeth I'd ever seen. She was gorgeous.

Oh, god. I think I liked her!

"Sookie, you've been quiet. Tell me about yourself." Claudine's voiced jarred me out of my thoughts. And when she placed her hand on top of mine, I got tingles that shot straight to my…well, my girly bits.

I spent the rest of lunch trying not to put my foot in my mouth and not stare at Claudine too much all the while trying to figure out how to not like this woman. She was just so breathtakingly beautiful.

By the end of our meal, I had learned the Cranes were twins. That was all that my lust filled-brain managed to absorb.

We finished our lunch, returned our trays to the kitchen window and headed out into the sunlight. Before I knew it, Laffy and Claude were saying good bye, Claude mumbling something about homework and Laff mentioning a meeting in the library. Their abrupt departures threw me off and I was even more startled when I felt Claudine's arm slip around my waist. She pulled my body close to hers as she lead us to a nearby bench. Her touch sent shivers down my spine.

"Sookie, I think I'd like to get to know you better," her left hand pulled my right one into her lap. She turned my hand over in hers, studying it. Her slender fingers ran over the opal and silver ring that was Gran's on my ring finger. "This is lovely." Her dark eyes sought mine and the intensity in them surprised me. I felt a blush cover my face. "You're lovely." I had to look away, too overwhelmed by how my body was reacting. Moisture was pooling between my legs. No one had ever looked at me like that before. "Let's get together this week. When are you free?"

We spent a few more minutes together, my hand still in hers, on that bench. After discussing schedules, we agreed to get together Saturday evening for dinner. A dinner date. I had my first dinner date. My first date, _ever_!

* * *

"Sookie, I don't think you should go out with her!"

"And why not, Pam?" I slammed my statistics book closed, spinning around in my desk chair to face her. "Why shouldn't I go out with Claudine?"

Pam sighed, "I just think it's a bad idea, Sookie. That's all."

Was Pam jealous that I had a date? "Are you jealous, Pam?" Her eyes widened and she laughed. She laughed!

"For fucks sake, Sookie, no I'm not jealous! I just don't want you to get hurt. Claudine isn't…" Pam looked away, silent for a few moments. "She's just bad news, okay?"

I rolled my eyes, annoyed by Pam's lack of reasoning. "Listen, if you can't give me a legitimate reason, Pam, I'm going out with Claudine Saturday. Could you not ruin this for me, please?"

Pam sighed before pulling on her trench coat and slipping into her knee-high leather boots. "I have a meeting to get to." She grabbed her leather messenger bag, pausing in the doorway. "What time is your date? I'll help you with your hair and make-up, if you like."

"Oh, Pammy!" I jumped out of my desk chair, ready to tackle her.

"Don't you hug me!" she commanded. "Just promise never to call me 'Pammy' again."

I hugged her anyways, "I promise!"

* * *

Though our first official date wasn't til Saturday, Claudine and I managed to get together a few times before then. Shortly after Pam left Thursday evening, Claudine asked me to study with her in the library. Friday morning, we meet in the on campus bakery for a quick breakfast. That same evening, she and Claude invited Laffy and me over to their apartment for a movie night.

After having spent time with her, I couldn't understand for the life of me why Pam seemed to insist Claudine was bad news. She was sweet and kind, even affectionate. Each time she held my hand or kissed one of my cheeks, I found my infatuation for her deepening.

* * *

Though winter had truly setting in and it was bitter cold, Pam suggested I wear a dress.

"But it's cold out!" I whined as Pam walked out of my closet with both my only skirt and my only dress.

"Sook, since when did you get sexy clothes?" The black pencil skirt had cute flaring at the back, but I definitely didn't consider it sexy. The dress, on the other hand…

"My Gran always said a woman ought to have at least one little black dress in her wardrobe," I pulled the dress out of her hands. "Sam helped me pick this out before school started. He's always had good taste." The dress had a square neck line, an empire waist and hugged my curves just right. I hadn't worn it at all since I bought it, other than to try it on, but I remembered how sassy it made me feel. Sam assured me I looked "fabu" and then suggested I never let my brother see me in it, as he'd probably freak out.

"You're definitely wearing this, Sookie! Claudine won't be able to keep her eyes off you! Now, for shoes…" Pam tapped her chin as she went back into the closet. I heard an awful lot of noise coming from our closet, before Pam gasped. "You should be grateful we wear the same size shoe." She had a pair of black patent leather peep-toes heels dangling from her fingers when she walked out. "You're also lucky I like you. I don't trust Jimmy with just anyone."

I stared at the shoes: certainly, they were lovely and did look expensive but the heel! Stiletto heels! At least three inches high! Never mind the fact peep-toes aren't conducive to winter weather.

"I don't think I can wear those, Pam!" She glared at me.

"Who's the fashion expert here?" I pouted. "That's what I thought. You just let me take care of you and Claudine won't be able to keep her hands off you by the end of your date."

* * *

Pam wasn't kidding: Claudine couldn't keep her eyes or hands off of me! From the moment she picked me up, her eyes seemed to devour me. She also kept brushing her hands against me, sometimes my arm or hand and other times, my knee. Any time she did that, I blushed and giggled which only seemed to encourage her.

During dinner, Claudine's hand seemed permanently entwined with mine and her knees kept rubbing up against mine. When our bill came, she offered to pay for it and I graciously accepted (Gran would have been proud) and promised to pay next time.

We walked out of the restaurant together, Claudine's arm wrapped snuggly around my waist. As she guided us through the parking lot and towards her car, for the first time I could recall, I felt normal. This was what normal people did: they went out on dates Saturday nights. And with Claudine's arm around me, I felt…wanted, special even. For someone so beautiful to seem proud to be with me, well, it felt pretty damned good.

After reaching her car, Claudine opened my door for me and made sure I was tucked inside. While helping me with my seatbelt, her lips pressed gently to mine.

My first kiss.

"Come back to my apartment with me?" Her forehead was pressed to mine. In the dim of the car's interior light, I could see the warmth in her chocolate eyes and feel her breath against my cheek. Blushing, I nodded.

"Perfect," Claudine whispered before shutting my door gently.

* * *

After parking her car, Claudine quickly ushered me up to her third floor apartment. She helped me out of my coat and laid it on the edge of the couch before pulling me down next to her. Before I even had a chance to speak, her mouth sought out mine.

"Claudine, I…" I panted against her mouth when her hands slipped under my dress. Her full lips crashed into mine once more, her tongue slipping into my mouth. The feel of her tongue against mine, the taste of her in my mouth…it was almost too much . I couldn't resist. My nipples hardened and panties dampened when Claudine pressed her body closer to mine.

"What, Sookie?" her voice was husky, her hands sliding further up my legs. "Do you not want this?" I gasped when I felt a slender finger rub the crotch of my wet panties. "Your body says otherwise."

"I've just never…" Her hands stilled. "I've never done this before." Her eyes darkened.

"Sookie, a virgin? Really?" Claudine scoffed, pushing me away from her. "I don't have time to teach, honey. Find a tutor and then come talk to me." She pushed me off the couch, not quite roughly but certainly not gently. As it was, I stumbled towards the door as she tossed my coat and purse after me. I was terribly embarrassed as I hurried out of her apartment and felt shameful as I began walking towards campus. Unfortunately, it was bitter cold and my knee length pea coat did nothing to prevent the chill air from slipping up my dress. My heels proved themselves useless, especially after I slipped on a patch of ice. That seemed to be my breaking point and I was thankful no one else was around as my tears froze to my face. After allowing myself a few minutes of crying and stumbling and more crying, I finally righted myself. My legs were numb, my face felt frost-bitten and my butt hurt from my fall. Seeing as my pride was already ruined, I dug through my purse until I found my cell phone.

Pam was out: she had warned me about Claudine and I not only didn't listen but called her jealous. Laffy and Claude were terrible options, seeing as Laffy had introduced me to Claudine and well, Claude goes without explanation. Despite the fact I knew there was no one who could help, I scrolled through my phone as I continued my slow shuffle home. Claudine's apartment was only about a mile or so from my dorm, but I was beginning to feel unbearably cold. Just as my teeth reached the point of chattering so much I couldn't think, an approaching car pulled to the side of the road before coming to a halt and blinding me with its headlights. My body tensed and I began backing away, still unable to see through the blazing headlights. Just after I spun on my heel, I found myself falling to earth. Before I could hit, though, strong hands grabbed hold of my hips, pulling me tight against a warm body.

A/N: So who is this mystery car driver? Any thoughts?


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Can this make up for how long it took me to post Chapter 3?

Sorry about the mess up with Chapter 4! *shakes fist at FF*If you read one that was all bolded, that's the wrong one! This is the right one!

Also, big shout out to Sweet Sookie who was my test reader for this chapter. Love you, boo!

The big, strong hands of a stranger gripped my sides, holding me tight against his warm chest. "I've got you," he breathed against my hair. My hands went to his, trying to pry them away from me. Who was he? What if he wasn't a nice guy? The fact that they never caught the rapist on campus flitted across my mind and I scrambled away from him.

My feet flew out from under me, about ten feet way from the stranger. Landing flat on my back, I just laid there. My butt already hurt from my first fall, as did my pride and now my back hurt too.

"Shit!" I heard his footfalls as he approached me. They crunched through the snow and salt. "Sookie?" His voice was full of concern as he knelt next to me, his hand touching my shoulder.

"Yeah?" I whispered, fear creeping up my spine. How'd he know my name?

"Lafayette sent me to look for you. He'd have come himself, but he's at work right now." A warm hand slid under my neck, coaxing me to sit up. I obeyed. "He mentioned something about Claudine being, uhh…'a slut face'? His words, not mine." I gave a weak laugh as he helped me to my feet.

"You could say that," I shivered as a gust of wind blew by.

"Shit!" he murmured again. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder, tucking me into his side. "Let's get you out of the cold." For the second time tonight, someone led me over to their car and buckled me in. There was no kiss this time, though and I wasn't nearly as excited.

I watched as he rounded the car, sinking back into the supple leather seat, surprised to find it so warm. Who was he?

"Who are you?" I blurted out. Gran must have rolled over in her grave at my lack of manners! "I'm sorry, I mean…" He laughed, a deep sound that seemed to flood the car; a sound that I found to be very soothing.

"It's alright, I should have introduced myself sooner. I'm Eric Northman." He dropped the car into gear, driving towards the apartment complex I had just walked away from. "One of Laf's roommates. Hey listen, I've been studying all night. You wanna keep me company at the diner? My treat."

Common sense said to decline, he _was _a stranger, but he _had _just gone out of his way to pick me up and he didn't even know me. "I'm not sure how much company I'll be, but sure, I'd be glad to."

As Eric drove through the night, I thought about the events from earlier. The look on Claudine's face when she pieced together I was a virgin cut me deeply: it was like the beginning of the semester all over again, when Sophie-Anne ended our friendship. It turned out I wasn't exactly what Claudine expected either, so I was worthless. Tears prickled my eyes. I sniffled, trying to keep them from falling. When I couldn't choke back a sob, it came out strangled. Eric's hand came to rest on my knee, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Everything from my date came crashing back: Claudine paying for dinner. Claudine helping me into the car. Claudine's hand on my knee on the drive to her apartment. It turned out Claudine was the same as a lot guys I'd heard about, expecting sex after paying for a date. Was Eric one of those guys? Was this an impromptu date to him? Oh, god! We just pulled into the diner's parking lot!

"I'm not going to have sex with you!" The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. His hand jumped away from my knee as he slammed on the brakes. "I mean…" I burst into tears. As I sat in his passenger seat, with Eric staring at me helplessly, my Gran's favorite saying crossed my mind.

"_If God had wanted me otherwise, he would have created me otherwise." _

She used to say that about all types of things: when she'd do something extremely clumsy, when she started losing her vision, when her right hip started going bad. She'd even told the dentist that when he insisted I needed braces (they straightened out on their own) and told me it when I'd asked to color my hair. When I started bringing Sam home with me, she'd even tell him that.

We hadn't been friends very long, Sam and I, before Gran died. She did know Sam was gay, though. And even though she went to church every Sunday and the Bible taught against homosexuality, she always welcomed Sam with open arms. When I'd asked her once, what she thought about him, she answered me with that quote. "If God wanted Sam otherwise, Sookie, he would have made Sam otherwise."

I don't know whether or not Gran knew about my homosexuality but I believed she would have loved me regardless. Gran taught my brother and me to be proud of who we were, to stand up for ourselves and not let others get us down.

Up until my first year of college, I'd never let anyone get me so down on myself. What was wrong with me? What happened to me this semester, that made me so susceptible to what others thought of me? You know what? I was done with that! I liked myself fine, just as I was! Screw anyone who didn't!"

"Watch out." Eric's hand brushed my knee as he fumbled in the glove compartment. He pulled out some napkins. "They're not tissues, but stop crying? You don't even need to explain, just please stop crying?" He had a pained look on his face, similar to the one my brother gets whenever I cry in front of him. Nodding, I accepted the yellow Wendy's napkins. After wiping my face and blowing my nose, I turned to face Eric.

"I'm sorry about all this, guess I'm not very good company after all!" I offered him a weak smile. "It's just that, I just went on a date with someone who paid for dinner and then expected me to sleep with her." His eyebrows shot up. Huh. I forgot how some males were fascinated by the idea of two girls having sex. "I just didn't want this to end up like that." I waved a hand between us. He nodded, before pushing open his door, leaving it at that. I followed suit.

OoOoO

Two hours, two hamburgers and two milkshakes later, we were still sitting in our booth at the back of the diner.

"So tell me," I stirred my Oreo shake, determined to get every last drop. "What's it like living with Lafayette?"

"It's like living with every single one of the Spice Girls plus the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." I snorted, spraying shake all over the table. Eric just shook his head, a goofy grin plastered on his face as I grabbed napkins to mop up my mess. "Just wait til I tell you about the other two. Steve, he thinks he's fucking Ned Flanders. Always spewing shit about God and the Bible. He even wears these lame sweater vests." He dipped a cold fry into his strawberry shake before popping it in his mouth. I gave him a disgusted look. "What? Don't knock it, that's good shit! Anyways, so we've got the Spice Prince and Ned, plus this computer nerd who's like…" Eric rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "He's like that guy from Garfield!"

"Jon?" I supplied.

"Yes! He's Jon! Bill Compton is a total computer geek and I swear, he's always moping around like his life sucks or something. He is undeniably Jon. I'm pretty sure he has an unnatural hatred of cats too." Eric leaned back, his arms behind his head. His shaggy blond hair splayed out around his shoulders: it was as long as, or longer, than my own shoulder length hair. Despite my lack of interest in the opposite sex, I found myself thinking Eric was quite handsome, with his bright blue eyes and quick smile.

"Tell me more about Ned Flanders?"

"Steve's one of those condescending religious pricks. He believes in that Westboro Baptist shit, 'God hates fags' and that type of garbage. Always giving Laffy a hard time, racist asshole." Eric took a deep breath, sighing slowly. "The stupid bastard refuses to change rooms." One of Eric's big hands formed into a fist before lightly pounding it against the table. "You know what? Let's not talk about Steve Newlin. He's a dick, end of story."

"Okay." I nodded, thinking of how terrible Laffy's living situation must be. At least Arlene moved out! Hoping to break move past that awkwardness, I settled for the first thing that came to mind. After catching Eric's eye, I said, "Favorite color on three? 1-2-3!"

"Red!"

"Red!"

OoOoO

We spent another three hours in that diner, a total of five hours since he had picked me up from the side of the road. In the time, I discovered not only did we have the same favorite color, we loved many of the same bands (The Shins, The Flaming Lips, Radiohead), movies (anything with Ben Stiller or Will Ferrell), and even enjoyed some of the same books (_Harry Potter _and _Twilight_, though I had to pinky promise not to tell anyone about _Twilight_).

I also learned that Eric was from California, a junior pre-law student who was here on a football scholarship. Despite only needing a GPA of 2.5 to maintain his athletic scholarship, he was very determined to get into law school and refused to earn less than a 3.5.

He had a little sister, Holly. She was12 (and the reason he read _Twilight_) and she missed him terribly. I could tell from the way he spoke about her and the smile came on his face when he pulled her picture from his wallet, that he missed her just as terribly.

Over those five hours, I found myself really liking Eric. Even though my heart was still tender from Claudine, this evening hadn't been a total loss. In fact, I was glad it had happened. It was an eye-opening, learning experience. Nothing wrong with learning something new every day, right?

OoOoO

"Here?" Eric asked as he pulled up behind my dorm. I nodded, opening my door. "I'll walk you up." We walked around to the front of the building, where Eric grabbed my keys from my hand and unlocked the door for me. He held it open and ushered me in. In spite of my arguments, he insisted on walking me up to my room. When we reached my door, he returned my keys to me.

"Listen," he spoke softly. "Laf and I do brunch Sundays around 1. You in?" I nodded. Pam refused to do brunch. "We'll met you on the stoop then."

Taking me by surprise, Eric pulled me to him for a quick hug. He reminded me of my brother, though he was about five inches taller than Jason's six-foot frame. His arms were strong and he even kind of smelled like Jason. Same cologne , maybe? Regardless, he made me feel safe. I sagged against him, weariness finally hitting me.

"Tomorrow it is." Pulling away, I nodded. I watched him as he left through the heavy double doors before entering my own room.

OoOoO

"Sookie!" Something hit me in the face and I swatted it away. "Get the fuck up!" I groaned, registering the voice as Pam's. My right eye opened slowly. "Details! I want all the details! I heard you creeping back in here at the ass-crack of dawn!"

Groaning, I rolled over and buried my face into my pillows. "Don't wanna talk about it." Pam hopped on my bed, moving my legs to accommodate her body. "Jerk."

"What do you mean, you don't want to talk about it? Stackhouse, you _can _kiss and tell!"

"You were right," I murmured into my pillow, hoping Pam would go away. I so didn't want to discuss this. Rolling over, I stared up at the ceiling, waiting for Pam's "I told ya so."

"Oh, Sookie," Pam leaned forward and pulled me into a hug. "Tell me what happened?"

Tears welled up in my eyes. Despite her cold persona, Pam really did have a soft spot for her friends. I was lucky to be counted among them. Using the back of my hand to wipe away the unshed tears, I pulled way from Pam's embrace.

"She told me to get out and find a tutor when I told her I was inexperienced." Pam's eyes darkened. "So, I did as she said." A bitter laugh escaped my lips, "Well, not the tutor part."

"Please tell me she drove you home?" I shook my head no. "That stupid twat!" Pam jumped off my bed and began pacing. "Fucking Laffyette thinking it was a good idea to introduce you two. He knows how she is! His balls are so mine!" She stilled her angry movements. "Where were you. then?"

I swung my legs off the bed. My alarm clock read 12:35. I needed to get ready for brunch, like ASAP. "Claudine must have sent Laffy a text about me or something. He ended up sending one of his roommates to get me." I walked into the closet and grabbed my bathroom caddy. "In fact, I'm meeting them for brunch at 1 o'clock, if you wanna join us?" I pulled my keys from their hook and tossed them into my caddy before sliding my feet into my slippers. As I made my way to the bathroom, Pam trailed behind me.

"Which roommate? And you know I don't do brunch." Pam questioned after we made it into the bathroom. Turning on the water, I squirted some face wash into my hands.

"Eric Northman," I answered as I massaged the sudsy soapy water onto my face. If I couldn't shower, I had to at least wash my face. Otherwise, I'd feel disgusting.

"Eric Northman?" I heard a girl screech from the middle toilet stall. After a flush of the toilet, the door burst open. Lorena stood there, a confused look on her face. "What the fuck does Eric Northman see in you?"

I stopped mid-squeeze of my toothpaste and held a hand in front of Pam, silencing her. "I'm sorry, I don't recall you being part of this conversation." Pam folded her arms across her chest and nodded.

"Well, I was just asking!" Lorena walked towards the door, pausing right in front of the it. "Could you put in a good word for me?" Pam snorted. I began laughing: big deep belly laughs that had me doubled-over. Tears began rolling down my cheeks. Lorena looked appalled.

"Lorena, I wouldn't let Eric touch you with a twenty foot pole!" She huffed and walked out of the bathroom. I wiped my face free of tears, looking up at Pam. "What a stupid bitch! And she didn't even wash her hands!" Pam smirked and I burst into laughter again.

After finishing up in the bathroom, I returned to my room where I threw on my favorite sweat pants and hoodie before shrugging into my coat. As I bounded happily down the stairs, I realized how good Pam, Lafayette and now Eric were for my self-esteem. Maybe my behavior in the bathroom with Lorena wasn't the nicest thing I could have done, but she really was a jerk! I was willing to bet she treated people like dirt all her life. It was high time someone gave it back to her.

I hushed up my thoughts when I reached the bottom of the stairs. Making my way through the hall, I pushed open one of the heavy red doors. Lafayette and Eric were sitting on the wrought iron bench. Eric was sprawled out, his long legs, also clad in sweat pants, crossed in front of him, his right arm thrown over the back of the bench. Lafayette cradled his head in his hands, leaning forward. When I stepped out, Laffy's head shot up and he pounced on me.

"Sooks! I'm so sorry!" He crushed me to him in a huge bear hug, rocking me from side to side. "I had no idea, about you's being a…" Pulling back, he looked into my eyes. His dark brown eyes, usually warm and full of mischief, were sullen. "I just didn't know, doll face." I nodded, accepting his apology. It's not like I walked around with a giant 'V' on my forehead. Plus, he sent someone to get me home safely.

Eric was still lounging on the bench, watching our exchange. He raised his eyebrows when I looked over at him. Shrugging, I shook myself out of Laffy's arms and grabbed Eric's hand.

"Nice pants, Eric," I nodded towards his legs, a smile playing on my lips as I pulled him up. His eyes traveled from his legs to mine: we were in matching blue pants, with bold yellow letters down the left pant leg, spelling out "Clarion."

"You got a gray hoodie under that coat?" He winked as he unzipped his jacket, revealing a gray sweat shirt. I couldn't believe it! Lafayette just watched silently as I unbuttoned my coat to show off my own gray sweat shirt. They both had the silhouette of an eagle, with the words "Fear the Bird" written underneath in dark blue. Laffy just shook his head.

"Alright, ladies, now that we know you both have terrible taste in fashion, can we's go eat?" Lafayette headed down the stairs, leaving Eric and me on the stoop. We followed after, chuckling together as we walked behind Lafayette's sashaying hips.

A/N: Sorry if the formatting is a little funny, I was kind of too lazy to fix it. *hides* Also, I have chapter 5 in the works! Oh, yeah…I'd love to hear your thoughts on Eric? Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Alright, so I am officially the biggest fanficition fail ever. It's been about nine months since I last updated. I wish there was some awesome explanation for why I haven't updated, like I flew to the moon or I got a pet unicorn or something but there isn't much to be said. I hit a block in my writing and it's taken a long time to get past it. Anyway, so to those of you who have stuck with this story, thank you. I appreciate you more than you could ever know**.

Before I knew it, finals were over and I back in my hometown, with Sam. As excited as I was to be home and spending time with my best friend, I missed Pam and Lafayette and Eric. Out of all three, I had known Eric the shortest but missed him the most. He and I had become inseparable over those last few weeks of the semester: studying together, eating together, having movie nights together, doing laundry together. He even took me along while he did his Christmas shopping.

Since Eric and Laffy lived together, I was always spending lots of time with Laf. I would never admit this to Sam, but Lafayette was slowly taking over Sam's place as my gay bestie. Laf refused to take shit from anyone and always told you how it was, without sprinkling sugar on everything. It was easy to see why he and Pam were such good friends. Speaking of Pam, she seemed less than pleased that I was spending so much time with Eric. She refused to tell me why, but she clearly did not like Eric. She never joined us for brunch, though she had never been one for brunch, and she refused to study with us if Eric was going to be there or she'd leave as soon as he showed up. Eric never commented on why Pam didn't like him, either.

Because I was spending so much time with Eric, this meant I spent a lot of time in his dorm room. Eric wasn't lying when he called Steve Newlin Ned Flanders. The only different between the two is Ned Flanders, while annoying, wasn't an asshole. Steve was. Bill Compton definitely was a computer geek, though I likened him more to Dilbert than Jon. That promptly gave him the nickname of Bilbert. He was nice, though and a bit on the quiet side.

In all the time we spent at the library, I found myself increasingly attracted to one of the girls who worked at the front desk. She was a little bit taller than me, maybe an inch or so, with long brown hair that was streaked with shades of blonde, red and black. Her style was vintage, hippie, eclectic. Long, flowy skirts, peasant tops, hair scarves, chunky jewelry, tie-dye. She was beautiful. God, I wanted to know her, kiss her, be with her.

Of course, I was way too scared to even think about talking to her.

My month at home passed slowly, slower than I'd like to admit. Of course I had a blast spending time with Sam but I just couldn't wait to get back to school. After a long goodbye from Sam, Jason and I loaded up his car and hit the road. It was early in the morning, around 6 and we'd be arriving at 10. Jason wanted to beat traffic and get home early. I fully expected to spend most of the day lonely, since the dorm wouldn't be filling up until after dinner. Most of the people who lived on campus were only an hour or two from home. They waited til after dinner to come back, I suppose for one last home-cooked meal.

I knew Pam would be late: her drive from Connecticut took anywhere from 7 to 12 hours, depending on how much traffic there was. I was disappointed that neither Eric or Laff had returned my texts asking about their arrivals. It was alright, though. I enjoyed having private time.

Jason pulled his car up behind Becht and put it in park. He looked over to me. "You ready to go back to this, sis?"

"Like you wouldn't believe!" I grinned, opening my door and jumping out the SUV. Opening the back door, I grabbed my laptop bag and slung it over my shoulder before pulling out my one of my baskets of laundry. On the other side, Jason tossed my book bag onto his back before grabbing my huge bag of laundry . With a slam, we both shut our respective doors and Jason locked up. As we picked our way along the sidewalk, careful not to fall on the packed down snow that was icy in spots, we made our way into the building. Inhaling, I relished in the musty scent of the century old building. Usually, the roasting hot lobby's moldy smell disgusted me but today, it felt like coming home. I hadn't realized just how much this place had become my home, especially after finding my group of friends.

Jason shoved open one of the swinging doors for me, holding it against the wall til I passed through. Despite everything I had missed about this building, I did not miss the walk up three flights of stairs to reach my floor.

"How about next year, you get in on a first floor, huh?" Jason puffed out as he trailed behind me. I paused on the third floor landing, peaking down the stairwell. He was two flights below me.

"Listen, brother dearest, it's not my fault your old man legs can't keep up with me!" I laughed as he gave me the finger and hustled up the remaining stairs. "Don't rush on my account!" I teased as I held the door open for him this time. He stepped inside, walking around the corner a few seconds before I did. I released the door, hearing its loud slam moments before running into Jason. He let out a string of profanity.

"Mother-fucking-goddamn-fucking-ignorant-fucking-sons of bitches!"

"Jason Stackhouse! What would Gran say?" I stepped out from behind him and a curse slipped softly from my lips. "Shit."

It looked like the West Baptist church went to town on the door to the dorm room I shared with Pam.

"Burn in hell." "God will punish you." "God hates fags." "You're going to hell." Those were only some of the ignorant statements in the papers that were stapled across the door and nearby tack board

Jason was visibly shaking with anger next to me. I could feel my face flushing with my own anger. As I stepped closer, I could see that the door wasn't latched as I had left it.

"Sookie, I don't think you should…" Jason trailed off as I carefully pushed the door open with my foot. Gasping, I couldn't believe the sight before me. The walls on my side of the room, only my side, had all sorts of hateful words and messages spray painted on them. My bedding was all ripped up, my pillows shredded. The drawers on my desk were pulled out, my chair flipped on its side. My poor printer was broken which made me very glad I took my laptop home. Turning, I looked in the closet, which was open, to see even more destruction. My clothes, the few that I had left behind, were spray painted too. I was so thankful I had taken the majority of it home for break. Like my desk, my dresser drawers were pulled out, the contents spilled on the floor. But nothing, not a single thing, on Pam's side of the room was touched. It was a clear attack on me, based on my sexual orientation. I was appalled that such ignorance existed at a liberal arts college. Spinning on my heel, I walked back into the hall, where my brother had stayed.

"Sookie, you don't have to stay here. We can find you another school-"

"Oh, I don't think so, Jason." A few months ago, I'd have broken down and cried over this. The confidence I had found through my new friends had really changed me. I wasn't giving that up. "This is my college. This is my life. I won't let some ignorant people chase me out of here. I just need to call public safety and get this reported."

After spending two hours with a campus police officer, I had filed a report and been told not to stay in the room as it was considered the scene of a hate crime, thus making it unsafe. By the time the officer finished up his report, Felica, one of my R.A.s showed up. The situation was explained to her and I asked what I should do about my room.

"Do you have anyone to stay with? Housing isn't open until tomorrow and I have no way to fix this, Sookie." She shrugged her shoulders, patting my arm. "Let me call the GM and see what he has to say. I'll give you a call when I find out, okay?" I nodded, giving her my phone number before she went upstairs.

I felt defeated until she mentioned the GM. The GM, or graduate manager of both Becht and our brother hall Ballentine, happened to be a member of Allies. While we weren't friends, Andy was always friendly with me whenever we saw each other. In fact, it seemed like most of the members of Allies always said hi to me whenever I saw them, even if I never spoke to them during the meetings. Like we were members of a secret society or something. I suppose, in a sense, we were.

I turned to Jason, who was sitting on a chair.

"I'm sorry for all this, Jason. I know you wanted to get home early." I didn't have an issue with trying to deal with this on my own, but I was thankful he was here with me. Silently, he got up, walked over to me and pulled me to him in a tight hug.

"You're my baby sister. I'll always be here for you," he whispered into my hair. His words were sweet and so surprising that I had to fight back tears.

"Thanks, big brother," I sniffled, forcing my tears to dry up. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving!"

Jason agreed and we went upstairs, grabbing all my stuff that we just dragged up from his car only to drag it back down the stairs. After stashing it in his car, I called Pam as he and I walked a couple blocks off campus for some pizza.

I told her the whole story, about how my stuff was destroyed, about how her stuff was fine, about how we couldn't stay there for awhile. I knew she really cared about me when her questions came in this order.

"Vandalized? What about Jimmy? Are my shoes okay?" She paused for a moment. "Oh, Sookie! Those bastard destroyed all your stuff? But you're okay, right?"

"Glad I come second to your shoes, Pam, " I chuckled and she snorted.

"Shut up, you know I care about you too! I just care about my shoes more." We both laughed at that. "So where are we sleeping tonight? I should be there in about five hours."

"No idea, but I'll let you know as soon as I do." With that, we hung up.

Jason and I were in the middle of eating pizza when my phone buzzed. After reading the caller I.D., I quickly flipped it open.

"Laffy!"

"Sooks!" We both squealed like little girls for a few seconds before laughing. "Where you at, girl? My big mountain of a man roommate and I is ready to play with yous!" I giggled, which got an odd look from my brother.

"My brother and I are doing lunch. We're about done. Meet me on the stoop in 15?" Lafayette agreed and we hung up. I shoved the rest of my slice of pizza in my mouth, swallowing as quickly as I could without choking. "You ready?" Jason stared at me. "What? I miss my friends!"

"Uh, right. Sure, I'm done, I guess." He flagged our server down, asking for a box and the bill. After she returned and boxed everything up, we followed her up front to the cash register. I stood next to Jason, tapping my foot impatiently as he paid the bill. "You're really excited to see your friends, huh?" I nodded before grabbing his arm and pulling on him. He chuckled but let me drag him out the door.

The walk back to the stoop of Becht only took a few minutes but felt like forever. I couldn't believe how excited I was to see Laffy and Eric. It was kind of a rude awakening, however. I hadn't felt nearly as excited to see Sam.

"Ohhh, honey bee, I sees you!" Laffeytte's loud voice echoed across the quiet campus before I heard his foot falls. I barely saw him coming out of the corner of my eye before he attacked me in a giant side hug. He picked me up, swinging me back and forth before setting my back on my feet.

"Nice to see you too, Laff!" I panted between laughs, he had really squeezed me!

"Hey, Sookie," Eric said, looking down at me before opening his arms. Stepping into them, I felt myself relax, really relax for the first time all day. Our hug last a little longer than I realized when I heard Jason clear his throat. Eric released me and I took a step back.

"Jason, these guys are Eric Northman and Lafayette Reynolds. Eric, Laffy, this is my brother, Jason Stackhouse."

"Ohhh, girl, good looks run in yo' family, don't they?" Lafayette winked at me as he shook Jason's hand. Jason looked visibly uncomfortable.

"Don't tease him!" I laughed as Jason quickly released Laffy's hand. I had no doubt that my brother was anything but accepting, of all people, but I don't think he'd ever been hit on by a gay man before. He took Eric's hand next and I witnessed something very odd. Jason and Eric's hand shake lasted longer than what was considered customary and they seemed to be sizing each other up. Eventually, they released hands. Was there some weird straight men code I wasn't aware of?

After that awkward moment, we walked into Becht. I instructed the boys to sit down as I explained the room situation. Lafayette had a mixture of contempt and sadness on his face while Eric looked absolutely furious.

"Where are you going to stay then, Sookie?" Eric asked as his clenched and unclenched his fists in his lap.

"Don't know. My RA has to talk to the GM. She hasn't gotten back to me yet."

"Yous gonna stay with me and Eric, Sooks. Pam can stay too." I looked over at Eric, who was nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, of course you'll stay with us. I don't know why I didn't think of it myself."

"That's because yous the booty and I'm the brains, hooka." Laffy winked and Eric just rolled his eyes. My brother yawned uncomfortably and I decided to give him a break.

"Well, I think the boys have me covered. We can just grab my stuff and I'll be out of your hair, brother!"

We all walked out of the building and down the side walk to my brother's car. After the boys grabbed all my stuff for me, my brother and I hugged good-bye and then he climbed into his car and was gone.

The three of us trekked over to the Campus View Suites, the boys carrying all my stuff after they refused to let me carry anything other than my purse. As we walked, I pulled my cell phone out to give Pam an update on our living situation. Obviously, it wasn't a permanent solution but it was good enough for the night until we could sort everything out with housing.

Where Pam and I lived in a building that was a over century old, one of the four original buildings on campus, Lafayette and Eric lived in one of the four newest buildings on campus. Their dorm, or suite rather, had air conditioning, elevators and weren't sweltering hot all the time. Paint wasn't peeling off the walls and it didn't smell moldy and musty like Becht. Plus, each suite had private bathrooms and full sized bed instead of community bathrooms and twin beds like my dorm. Needless to say, I was jealous.

Eric opened the door to their suite, ushering me inside before he and Lafayette followed. Bill and Steve were both sitting in the common area, playing some Mario game on Bill's Wii. As per usual, Steve ignored us but not without glaring first and Bill offered me some Fresca, without looking up from the screen.

"Thanks, but I'll pass today, Bill." I was tired and just wanted to get out of my jeans and bra and into something comfy.

"Okay, Sookie. If you change your mind later, just remember the cans go in the recycling bin."

I murmured some sort of response before following the boys into Eric's room. Generally, when Pam, Lafayette and I spent time together, it was in our dorm room. Whenever I spent time with the boys, it was always in Eric's room. He had a great flat screen TV and this amazing collection of DVDs. Most of them, well, all of them were pirated but it was still amazing.

I rummaged through my laundry basket before finding my most comfy flannel Pjs and favorite sweatshirt.

"While I change, I demand you two find the perfect comedy movie. Nothing sad, nothing serious. Make it happen, boys." Stepping into the bathroom that connected Eric and Laffy's room, I pulled the door shut behind me. I set my clothes on the sink and sank onto the toilet. I needed a few moments to myself.

Today had been stressful in a way I hadn't imagine it could be. Sure, I knew some of the girls in the dorm didn't like me. And yeah, I knew there were people on campus like Steve who believed homosexuals were some sort of demon spawn. What I didn't expect was for anyone to act out, for someone to vandalize my property and personal space. While I told Jason it wasn't going to scare me away from this school or make me change my life, it did scare me. It really, truly did. How could it not? But people like that, people who were cowards, I wouldn't let them get to me. I wasn't raised to be ashamed of myself or to be afraid of other people. I would stand tall, stay proud and refuse to let someone chase me away.

A knock at the door startled me from my thoughts. "Sookie, you okay in there?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute!" Quickly, I did my business and swapped my clothes, grateful to be out of my bra. After washing my hands and rinsing my face a little, I opened the door. Eric was on the edge of his bed, playing with the remote and Lafayette was in one of Eric's gaming chairs. It was one of those weird rocking chair things that I hated them and I refused to sit on them.

"So what did you guys pick?" I asked after tossing my stuff on top of my basket and plopping down on Eric's bed, against the pillows. He had a bunch of oversized pillows. They were what I imagined clouds felt like, so big and fluffy.

"Anchorman," Eric responded, moving back on his bed so he was next to me.

"Good choice!" I nodded. "I love me some Will Ferrell."

Turns out, despite my love for Mr. Ferrell, I was super tired. I was out before the helicopter even landed.

When I woke up, I wasn't sure where I was. After rolling over, I spotted the alarm clock on Eric's bedside table. It was one the morning.

"Pam! Shit!" I fumbled around in the dark until I managed to get Eric's light on. No one was in the room with me, so I went looking for them. After stumbling around a bit in the darkened living room, I managed to make enough noise to wake someone up.

"Sookie? What are you doing?"

"Where is Pam, Eric?" I felt my way over to the couch before sitting down next to him after he sat up, pulling his knees up to his chest.

"She's in with Laf. We were going to let you girls have his room and he was going to crash with me, but you passed out before she got here. Your brother called too, he made it home."

I yawned, still tired. "Why are you sleeping out here?" I stood up. "It's your bed, we can share."

"Are you sure? I don't want to make you…"

I stopped him, grabbing his hand and pulled at him. "It's fine, Eric. I trust you." He allowed me to pull him up and followed me into his bedroom.

As we walked towards his room, I realized for the first time in my life, I was about to share a bed with a man who wasn't my brother or gay.

**A/N: So what do we think? I'm not one to beg for reviews, but I'm totally going to whore myself for reviews for this chapter. I'll give you a sneak peek of the next chapter in exchange for a review. Your feedback as a reader really means a lot to me, so don't be shy and please feel free to tell me what you like or hate or ask questions or make guesses about what's going to happen. I can't promise I'll answer everything, but I will definitely reply! Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Another chapter in less than a week? Yeah, I'm surprised too...**

The next morning, I woke up to find a warm body pressed up against me. _Eric Northman was a snuggler_? I thought to myself. Surprising. His arms were tight around me as I wiggled around, trying to get deeper under the covers. I assumed he was asleep and was startled when he let out a groan.

"Sookie, you need to stop moving around."

"Why?" I made to move again when I felt just exactly why I needed to stop moving. "Oh, my god, Eric!" I started giggling. Really giggling, which turned into laughing. Laughing until tears were streaming down my face. Eric, who was not nearly as amused as me, untangled his arms from my body and rolled away. "I'm so sorry, Eric, I just…" More laughter. "Just go walk it off, for goodness sake!" My cheeks were from laughing so hard, my tummy did too.

"Don't laugh at me, Stackhouse." I was back to giggling now. "I'm not afraid to hit you just cuz you're a girl, so knock it off." The irritated look on his face, which was mixed with just the slightest trace of embarrassment,sobered me up.

"Eric, I live with my brother and my best friend is a guy. The, uh, morning salute isn't a new thing to me." Though, I'd never been so up close and personal with it before.

On that note, Lafayette opened the door and sauntered in. True to his typical fashion, Lafayette's pajamas were just as loud as his personality: hot pink leopard print bottoms, which were definitely from the women's department and a purple colored tank top. Pam followed behind, very prim and proper in her matching pink and black plaid Burberry pajamas. Her and her designer brands. I don't think I'd ever seen her in anything but. Laffy settled back into that gaming chair I hated, while Pam perched on Eric's desk chair.

"Sookie, I contacted housing. First of all, let be begin by saying the imbecile I spoke with couldn't find her way out of a paper bag, even if it was open on both ends. Regardless, I got everything settled. Secondly, thank you for passing out before I even arrived last night. What a wonderful welcome to me," she snarked. "The bad news is housing feels, for our safety, we need to be moved to another dorm. The good news is, after I threatened them with a phone call from my father, that instead of being separated and forced into the filth that is Wilkinson Hall, we will be together in a two person suite. On the second floor of this building, actually." Pam smiled. "We can pick up our key-cards this afternoon."

By the end of the day, with Eric and Lafayette's help, Pam and I were settling into our new suite. While Pam was able to bring all of her stuff with her, mine was considered evidence and wasn't allowed to be removed. Considering the majority of it had been damaged, I wasn't interested in it anyway. Most of my clothes had gone home with me and the ones I left behind weren't that important to me, just t-shirts and old jeans. Plus, I could always replace a printer and school supplies. Pam had extra pillows and between the boys, they had managed to procure bedding for us and our new full sized mattresses.

After the boys left to give us some time to settle in, Pam and I stretched out together on our oversized couch. It was wide enough to accommodate both of us laying side by side.

"Let's order in tonight. All that heavy lifting really wore me out." I laughed at Pam's comment. She hardly moved a thing, opting to let the boys and me do must of the work while she packed, and complained any time she had to carry anything.

"Sound good." We laid quietly for awhile. "Hey Pam?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry about all this." She rolled over so she was facing me.

"Sookie, I would never dream of blaming you for this. No one deserves this type of hatred. If anything, I'm thankful I moved in with you when I did. The Sookie I first met never would have been able to handle this." I couldn't help but agree with her on that. "Do you remember what I told you when I moved in?"

"Um…that some of your best friends were homos?" I shrugged as I tried to remember.

"No. You're my roommate now, Sookie Stackhouse. No one treats me or mine like that and gets away with it. We'll find out who did this to you and when do we, Sooks, I promise I'll make them pay." She winked before sitting up. "Let's get some dinner, shall we?

After watching _The Hot Chick_ and pigging out on pizza and bread sticks, Pam and I said good night. It was weird sleeping in a room different from her. We were only separated by the bathroom that connected our bedrooms, but it was still strange. However, after all energy spent on moving earlier that day, I was exhausted and didn't spend time lingering on the new room situation. As I drifted off to sleep, I did find myself thinking how grateful I was that Pam had decided to room with me last November.

Despite the crappy initial start to the semester, I woke up Monday morning ready for to begin the semester. While some of my classes were lame gen-ed classes, a history class and speech class plus a lousy math class, I had two classes I couldn't wait to start. The first was an art history class I had been looking forward to since before I signed up for it. Laffy had taken it a year ago and couldn't stop raving about the professor when I told him it was in my schedule.  
"Doll face, yous gonna love that class. Professor Joe is one of the most fabulous men I've met. He's from Texas and a true southern belle."  
I also had a psychology of women class in my schedule that I also looking forward to. As in most fields, women's efforts in psychology were often overshadowed by men and I was eager to learn more about important female figures in my major.  
After getting through my 9 AM math class and rushing to my 10 AM history class, I met up with Pam and Laffy for an early lunch.  
"So hookahs, how is our first day back?" Laffy asked after we all got settled at a table.  
"I don't have class until 2 on Monday-Wednesday-Fridays," Pam gloated, checking out her manicure before digging into her lunch.  
"Lucky slut. I don't know about you, Sooks but I've been up since 8. Had to look fabulous for my 9 AM." He tossed his head to the side, the teal colored hair scarf he was wearing flipping over his shoulder like a pony tail would. "My biology professor is from Canada or somethin'. She's always adding this 'eh' onto the ends of her words. Some weird shit." He shook his head.  
"Well, math and I never really got along and taking it at 9 in the morning definitely doesn't increase my comprehension. This professor is a ridiculous man from India. Dr. Dip?" They both shrugged their shoulders. "The way he talks combined with his accent cracks me up." Pausing, I took a bite out of my cheeseburger. It was dry as usual and I reached across the table to grab the ketchup bottle. It needed some saving. "My history professor on the other hand," I said as I squirted some ketchup onto my burger. "He is kind of pompous, he really talked down to the class. I don't think I'm going to enjoy his class."  
We continued chatting about classes over our lunch. Lafayette and I both had noon classes so we had to finish up quickly while Pam was taking her own sweet time. That wasn't really unusual for Pam, though. She always seemed to expect people to adjust to her time rather than scheduling around others.  
After dropping off our trays, we left Pam and walked towards the bell tower side of campus. Laffy's class was in Founders Hall and mine was right next door in Hart Chapel. I left Lafayette on the steps of founders and made my way over to the chapel. The chapel was one of the four oldest buildings on campus, built shortly before Becht Hall. Originally, it had been used as an actual chapel but as the college grew and drifted away from religious courses, it was eventually converted to a small auditorium. It was a drafty old building that smelled like moth balls and desperately needed a face lift. It had character though and I loved it.  
I sat near the back, on an end seat and waited for class to start. A few minutes later, a short man came rushing into the building. He was dressed impeccably and had a leather satchel. It had to be the "fabulous" Professor Joe.  
"Oh my! Let me just, oh let me...what's the time?" He looked at the clock on the back wall, above the doors. "Oh, I've got another minute. No need for me to rush." He had a bit of an accent, obviously Texan but lacked the "gay accent." Fumbling in his bag, he pulled out some folders along with a thing of slides and what appeared to be batteries? He pulled out the lapel mic from under the podium and attached it to his shirt. Before clipping the battery pack onto his pants, he opened up the back.  
"Always remember, class, BYOB. Bring your own batteries. You just never know when you'll need fresh ones!" He winked as he clipped the battery pack onto his belt loop.  
I fell in love instantly. Laffy was right, he was pretty fabulous.  
Professor Joe got himself situated eventually. After handing out the syllabus and unit 1 study guide, one of the back doors creaked open. They were heavy and wooden, impossible to open quietly. A quick glance at my watch told me whoever this was, was 15 minutes late. People like that irritated me and apparently Professor Joe too.  
"Miss Broadway, what have I told you about showing up late to my classes?"  
"That you'll humiliate me in front of the whole class the next time I do it?" She answered as I heard her walking up the aisle.

"So glad you learned your lesson," was his response.

He only wanted us sitting in the main section of the auditorium and it was quite full. There were two free seats next to me though. Just as I was hoping she wouldn't sit near me, she tapped me on the shoulder. "Do you mind if I sit here?" She whispered. With a murmured no, I shifted my legs out of her way. It wasn't until after she passed by me and sat down that I actually looked at her.  
"Miss Broadway" was the girl from the library.

**Hey! Tell me what you thought? I'll be sending out teasers (if you want them, that is) just like last time for anyone who reviews. Thanks for reading!**


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